SSHG Potions Apprentice
by llorolalluvia
Summary: Starting with a slightly AU after Hogwarts story where Hermione just became Severus's Potions Apprentice (very much against his will).
1. Chapter 1

_We begin our journey with a trope I haven't used before… not exactly, anyway. This is slightly AU, as Severus and Albus (and maybe some others) are still living, but it takes place just after the Trio leave Hogwarts. Hermione has petitioned the Headmaster (Dumbledore) for an apprenticeship in Potions. Severus is not pleased._

 _Now, let us begin._

…*~*J*~*…

The damp chill of the dungeons was a welcome respite from the baked Summer air wafting through the rest of the castle. Down here, it was easy to pretend the day wasn't perfectly sunny, or that the sky wasn't perfectly blue and dreadfully cheerful. Even the distant laughter of his colleagues basking in the freedom of a newly begun holiday could not penetrate the ancient stillness of Slytherin domain.

But even those ancient stones couldn't block out thoughts of _her._

Severus Snape sat behind the overlarge desk in his office, staring down with blank eyes at the parchment before him. Summer was his respite! It was the only time of year the castle was completely free of students. He never felt more at peace than he did strolling through the empty corridors, taking his time, searching for no one. Summer was a time for locking himself away, alone, to study the latest advances in Potion-making. To make some advances of his own.

One such project sat before him; an idea he'd had a month ago and set aside until his Summer respite came. And now here he was, staring down at it, seeing nothing but vague scribbles in a spidery hand. His looming doom distracted him.

Severus let his head fall into his hands, massaging his now-aching temples and allowing his eyes to slide closed. And there she was. The little nuisance. That insufferable know-it-all. Somehow, she had convinced Albus ( _without so much as breeching the subject with me!_ ) to assign her an apprenticeship in Potions… under _him._ He'd given the old man hell for it. To no avail.

The apprenticeship was to begin this Summer, to give her time to adjust to the position before it was complicated by the general chaos of having students around ( _her old classmates, dear GOD_ ). And she was moving to the dungeons. _Merlin._ His respite, his hiding place, his home… was becoming hers in a matter of hours. He hated her for it.

Severus lurched to his feet, pacing across his office, as if looking for something. An idea. A distraction. Anything to get that loathsome face out of his mind. But everywhere he looked, she's what he saw. That smiling face, so proud, so exalted (probably by the outcome of her NEWTS). He had studied her briefly as the students of her year had left the grounds for the very last time ( _supposedly)._ There had been a strange emotion connected to watching that particular student go. Of course there had been relief, just as he had been relieved to see Potter waltz out those double doors. But there had also been a sense that things would not be the same without Granger in his classes. It was almost… disappointing.

 _Foolishness! She was merely a challenge; a distraction._ But the thought irked him, nonetheless. Hermione Granger leaving Hogwarts had seemed like the end of an era. True. But there had been others who had made similar impacts. And there would be others down the road. And anyway, why the hell was he contemplating this so much!?

The Potions Master swept from his office and went to ready his Potions lab. He began by moving the desks to arrange a new workspace. Usually, this would involve space enough to accommodate only himself. This time, however, he needed to arrange for space for two. He shuddered. A whole summer locked alone with that curly-haired nuisance? For once, he almost wished he could skip the season and head straight into new classes with the next batch of brats.

When Severus realized he was fiddling nervously with his instruments, he spun away from the assembled equipment, and stalked back to his office.

When he realized he had only just left his office for the exact same reason, he bristled. But there was no where to go, nothing to do, until he had settled things with Granger. She was due at some point "this afternoon," and noon had been almost an hour ago. Severus fumed, allowing his frustration to simmer just beneath the surface. Hermione Granger was known for her punctuality. She should have been here by now!

…*~*J*~*…

Hermione hesitated just outside of Professor Snape's office. Professor Dumbledore had given her a cheerful welcome into the fold of academic life here at Hogwarts. Then he'd sent her on her way with little more than a "you know where it is, of course." And here she was. All of her belongings were currently being moved (by House Elves, despite her insistence that she could move them herself) to private quarters down here in the dungeons. Near Snape. _Professor Snape._ It wasn't exactly a detail she'd bargained for. But this was what she wanted, after all. Hermione sighed. _Sometimes the most worthwhile goals present the most difficult challenges._ And a challenge he was. She hadn't even breeched the subject with him, yet. _Oh dear._

Of course, by now Professor Snape had certainly been made aware of her new position as his apprentice. _He can't have been happy about that._ And he would be the right bastard that he'd always been. And he'd be the biggest obstacle every step of the way. But then, when this was over, she'd be fully eligible for any Potions position in the English-speaking world. The ends were worth the means. They were. She was certain.

She knocked.

He didn't answer. Hermione's breath caught and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. All of her fears and doubts bobbed at the surface and it took everything she had to knock again. She waited.

"Yes?" came his surly voice from the other side of the door.

 _That bastard!_ He had intentionally forced her to knock twice. But she brushed that aside. This was the beginning of a new partnership. It would not do to begin it in anger. And so she opened the door.

"Hello, Professor."

Snape's eyes darted up only briefly from the parchment on which he was apparently scribbling. But in that moment, he somehow managed to convey a world of contempt and impatience. At length, he set his quill aside and folded his hands atop the desk. "Good afternoon, Miss Granger."

Hermione suppressed the urge to shudder. This was a man she had not long ago hoped to leave behind her in the past. And yet, there was only to press forward.

Hermione lifted her chin only a fraction, ignoring the flicker of annoyance in her old Professor's eyes. "I thought I'd drop by to discuss our new arrangement."

"Ah, yes. The arrangement you had the audacity to _arrange_ without so much as breeching the topic with me."

Hermione shuffled on her feet, but remained strong. "I thought it more proper to seek permission through the Headmaster. I assumed he would talk it over with you."

Snape glared down his crooked nose at her. "Have you any idea, Miss Granger, just how intensive an apprenticeship with me will be?"

"I'm counting on it, Sir."

He smirked. "I doubt you will survive the Summer, let alone the two years it takes to fulfill the requirements. And I can promise you now, I have no intentions of making the process any easier for you."

Hermione looked him dead in the eye. "I'm up to the challenge, Professor."

He seemed even more frustrated by that. She could see anger burning in the depths of his eyes. "Very well. We will begin before breakfast in the morning. Be in the lab at 6 o'clock sharp, or the repercussions will be devastating. Do not assume that I have no power over you, Miss Granger. If anything, an apprenticeship requires a deeper dependence upon your submission to my authority. If you provoke me, I will have the power to make your stay in this castle a living hell. And I have no qualms about ruining what has been for you up until now a mere playground. Your classes have been basic and elementary. You may think you are prepared for the complexities of my craft, but you will undoubtedly face failure at a rate as yet unprecedented in your young, naïve academic career. If at any point you decide that this path is not what you had hoped it might be, you are welcome to quit." He spat the last word with such vitriol that Hermione nearly recoiled. But she had known going into this that it wouldn't be easy. She was prepared to stand her ground.

"Thank you, Professor. But, I'm sure your warnings are unnecessary."

His lips twisted in a cruel sneer and he rested his chin on his steepled fingers, regarding her with dark humor that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "I wish you luck, Miss Granger." Somehow, she didn't think he meant it. "Six o'clock in the morning. Don't make me wait."

Hermione nodded, wishing that she had had an in to thank the Professor for allowing her to take up an apprenticeship with him. Somehow, this conversation hadn't gone exactly as she'd imagined it would. Ah, well. She'd find a time tomorrow to show him her appreciation. And she wouldn't let him down. No, Hermione Granger was determined to be the best Potions apprentice Hogwarts School had ever seen.

And so she retreated, heading along the cold, dark passageway to her new home. This still felt like enemy territory. As far as she could tell, she was placed about halfway between the Potions lab and the Slytherin Common Room. It really did feel like a dungeon.

Taking a deep breath, she faced the painting of some descendant of Slytherin (thinking all the while that Snape had certainly chosen this for her doorframe) and gave the short password Professor Dumbledore had given her, _Fizzing Whizbee_. She would worry about changing the password later. For now, it was time to make this prison cell a home.

The walls were bare stone, and the rooms were cramped. The living area had barely enough space for a desk and two chairs by the fire. The bedroom came equipped with a small, rickety bed (Slytherin green quilt included. Yay), an old wardrobe whose doors almost didn't have enough space to open fully because of the proximity to the bed, and a trunk at the foot that looked to have been owned by some servant of Slytherin, himself. But the bathroom nearly made up for that. For, despite the lack of counter space, the cramped positioning of the toilet, and the narrow stall of the newly renovated shower, there was a lovely stone bathtub that she longed to fill with hot, bubbly water right away. _Perhaps after tea tonight,_ she decided. That little reward in mind, Hermione set to work unpacking and making this place her own.

 _Yes_ , she thought to herself, _I will overcome._

…*~*J*~*…

 _:} llorolalluvia_


	2. Chapter 2

I have bad news, you guys. Apparently it's against the site Terms to have an interactive story, so I have to discontinue this… I really appreciated all of the feedback, though! I was really looking forward to working on a fic with y'all! Thanks, anyway!

Love

:] llorolalluvia


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